Page 195 of Bound By Song

My nerves spike, but then she smiles, soft and knowing.

“Evie. I’m so glad to meet you.”

I manage a shaky, “Hi.”

“Thank you for agreeing to this,” she says. “I know you’ve been through…a lot. We’re going to keep this kind, okay? You can pass on anything.”

I nod, and the tight knot in my chest starts to loosen.

She turns to the guys.“Ruin Bound. All together and still standing. That alone is worth a headline.”

Xar shrugs modestly, and Blaise grins. “Barely standing some days. But yeah. Still here.”

Shira smiles.“Let’s start from the beginning. Why were you really in Silver?”

There’s a beat of silence, and then Dane answers.

“We needed a break,” he says. “After the last tour, everything felt...off. We needed space to write again. To breathe.”

“To heal,” Blaise adds quietly.

Xar reaches up, tangling his fingers loosely with mine. “We didn’t expect to meet Evie, at all. But the second we did?—”

“We couldn’t leave,” Blaise finishes.

Shira turns back to me.“Evie, how did you meet them?”

I can’t help it. I laugh, the sound surprising all of us.

“There was flour everywhere,” I say. “Like, everywhere.”

Blaise groans. “Oh no, not the flour story. That wasn’t the first time, little one.”

“She was barefoot,” Xar adds fondly. “Yelling at us through a screen door.”

“She threatened me with a rolling pin,” Blaise mumbles into his sleeve.

“It was for protection!” I reply.

Shira’s eyes sparkle.“I need this story.”

So I tell it. About the porch. About the way they wouldn’t leave me alone. About Blaise barging in with that stupid smirk and the traps. About the first gift they ever sent me whichmiraculously survived the intrusion because it was folded up in the lounge.

“They were chaos from the beginning,” I say with a grin. “But they were kind. They looked after me during the storm, fixed my roof when I fell, carried me inside when I was half-frozen.”

“You fell off the roof?”Shira repeats, alarmed.

I nod. “It’s how they found out I was suppressing. I didn’t mean to – it just felt safer that way. But Xar he saw right through me. They all did.”

The guys go quiet for a moment. I feel the heat of their pride settle around me.

Shira gently moves the conversation on.“And the music? Word is the new album’s nearly done?”

Dane nods. “We’re delivering it to the label next week.”

“Title?”

“Not finalised,” Blaise says. “But the working one isAshes and Honey.”

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